Treble Hook Update

A proposal was recently put to the Wellington Fish and Game Council, calling for a ban on the use of treble hooks in the Wellington Region. The following decision has been reached.

Treble hooks have been banned from all waters where spinning is legal that have a closed season.

So for example, the Hutt River is open all year so treble hooks remain legal. Its tributaries such as the Pakuratahi and Akatarawa rivers have a closed season, so treble hooks are now illegal on these rivers. The line from the regulations that take effect from1 October 2019 – ”The use of authorised lures with treble hooks is only permitted in waters with an all year open season”

This new regulation is not the result that we had been hoping for but is none the less a positive step forward. HVAC members are encouraged to go one step further in their own fishing practice and refrain from using treble hooks completely. Other recommended practice is to use barbless hooks where possible and to release fish quickly and with minimum stress. Photos should be taken with the fish in the net and still partially submerged. Gone are the days of the “grip and grin” photo. Many of us take a fish for the table from time to time, in which case it should be dispatched quickly and humanely.